Gas station development draws pushback from Concord residents

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — As Knox County continues to develop, residents of Concord in the western part of the county are pushing back against a new development.

“It’s just really important to us as locals to preserve what we can,” said an Concord resident Belinda Brown.

Last month, a 7,000-square-foot area in the unincorporated community was approved to be rezoned to make way for an EZ Stop fuel station, restaurant, and drive through facility.

“It’s kind of like a David and Goliath story,” said Brown. “We’re just a small group of neighbors banding together, wanting to preserve our little community against a big corporation.”

Residents of the Historic Village of Concord have decided to fight back, saying it will ruin the integrity of their neighborhood. They also said the development is too large for what it was zoned for.

“The lot is currently zoned neighborhood commercial, which is for commercial businesses that are meant to service a neighborhood and on a neighborhood scale. So, there is this square footage limitation that comes with that. They should be 5,000 square feet or smaller, according to the zoning code. This one is coming in at 7,700 square feet,” said Old Concord Residents Association President Taylor Harris.

She also said this will come with unwanted noise, traffic, and the possibility of building on top of unmarked graves —as the development would neighbor a historic cemetery.

“People are concerned about going to see the cemetery and visiting loved ones there and hearing a drive-thru order,” said Brown.

While there will be a preliminary archaeological survey to check for unmarked graves before construction, they say it could still be a safety concern.

“Kids learn to ride their bikes here, families going on walks, moms push their babies,” said Harris. “So we have a lot of foot traffic and more cars is just not going to mesh well with that.”

Now they are trying to appeal the development before it begins.

“We’re at a point where we’re having to go before the Board of Zoning Appeals and just try to get that overturned and hopefully get something there that that is more appropriate. That is an actual neighborhood commercial business,” said Harris.

In order to preserve the area they love.

“Knoxville is becoming so overdeveloped and we’re losing our little sense of what makes Knoxville unique. We were called a Scruffy City for a reason and we kind of want to keep our charm, the little pockets of things that were unique to Knoxville,” said Brown.

The neighborhood is going to present their information to the Board of Zoning Appeals next month and have created a petition and gofundme to help pay for legal fees.

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